READY-MOSEY MORTIBOY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1487, 10 May 1873, Page 4

READY -MOSEY MORTIBOY.

A MATTER-OF-FACT STORY. Chapter XIII. — Continued. Flunk came clown pale as death, his dress in disorder: more ignorant and more* distracted than any of them. "Mr Sanderson," he said, "the people are collecting in the street. Can we open the bank before ten ? Is it possible that they suspect we are not solvent?' " All will be well, sir, I hope," the old retainer said, in a voice choked with emotion. "We must have the books and money. Where are the keys ?" "The keys were always in your father's possession," said the old clerk solemnly. Frank shuddered, and buried his face in his hands. His father's body had been laid on his bed. Who was to take them from it 1 The clerk saw his hesitation. " Excuse me, Mr Frank," he said, the tears running down his cheeks as he spoke, " but some one must get the keys. Let me get them." Frank assented, and the old servant went along into the room where the body of his master lay, and presently "■" "XSlliMr^back with a bloaaoliocl diep.t, anrl the bunch of keys in his trembling hands. They open the iron door in Frank's presence- — for it was evident there would be a run on the bank — and went in. The strong room — the place where books, securities, and " safe custodies" of all sorts were kept — was fire and thief proof ; but for still greater safety, in its farthest side was a money safe, built into the wall. In this was the cash kept : and they unlocked it without delay, for time pressed — people were already drumming the street doors with their heels. The next question was, what did it contain 1 This was soon settled. The black leather note-case was examined first. " Open it," said Frank. More than half the compartments had their own notes in them — some ready for issue, the bulk of them undated and unsigned. Sanderson gave a ghastly smile. Frank understood it. Paper bearing the signature of Melliship, Mortiboy, & Company was at a discount that morning; though a few hours before people would have bought the five pound notes at four pounds nineteen shillings and eleven pence halfpenny apiece as long as you liked to sell them. The old cashier turned to the Bank of England notes. There value was £2550. 3?«uak wrote it down on., a, piece of paper. Next they counted the gold — £1 100, in yellow canvas bags of a hundred pounds each; fifty three odd sovereigns. J They reckoned up their stock of' silver. Two sacks, with one hundred pounds in each. Nineteen pounds ten and sixpence loose. " The copper we need not consider, sir," said Mr Sanderson. "What is the total] Three, nine, two, two, ten, six," he added as he lead the amount over Frank's shoulder. "It seems a large sum, bxit I have no idea of how far it will go." "It is enough, sir, and more than enough for any ordinary day ; but there will be what I never saw before, and, please God, shall never see again — a run on Melliship's. At any rate, Master Frank, we must go on paying as long as we can." t "Yes." ' " " The bank is all right, sir, never fear. With a head like your poor father's was — till these last weeks — we're not likely to be far wrong when things are looked into." The clerk's confidence in the master j he had always served was so strong, it would not have been shaken if there had been only twopence found in the locker. "And if," said Frank, rousing himself with an effort from the fearful thoughts that filled his mind—" if the people's confidence is not established when our stock of ready cash is run out?" " Then," replied Mr Sanderson, with trembling lip, "we must put the

shutters up— unless Mortiboy will advance us money." Then, slapping Frank's shoulder, he cried, with energy —"•Go quickly, sir — go yourself to Mr Ghrimes, and tell him what a state we are in ; and Mr Mortiboy, your uncle, too. Go, Master Frank, go. Save our credit. We must have more than we've got, or at twelve o'clock the shutters must go \vn — which God forbid !" In town or country, a banker's stock of cash is always lowest on Monday. Saturday is the great day for paying out. On Monday morning customers begin to pay money in. On this day the cash at the bank was lower than usual by at least a third ; for two customers had on Saturday drawn £2000 in notes between them. One had a mortgage to settle, another had bought a house ; and as lawyers don't take cheques for such purposes, they had drawn their money out of the bank, and made their payment in notes. The persons interested in the solvency of- Melliship's were the depositors. Clearly, debtors would not care. It was the creditors that were going to make the run. They were small shopkeepers, who kept balances of fifty pounds and under at the bank. These men were the most afraid. Larger traders had from one hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds lying to their credit. The largest balance was kept by Hop good, Pywell, & Co., linendrapers ; but their bills had been meet on the 4th. On the 10th of the month they had not above a couple of hundred pounds in the bank. None of these classes could be hurt much. ' Trade is a very elastic tiling. But the doctor, with all his little savings there ; the retired shopkeeper ; poor gentlemen and gentlewoman in town and country, who had placed nearly all they possesed in Mr Melliship's custody — for them, his failure meant their ruin. Here I will show briefly how this failure had been brought about. Mr Melliship was by nature a gentleman : he never conceived a mean thought or a mean action. When his father died, instead of •carrying on the banking business, he ought to have disposed of it to old Mortiboy, and gone into the country to live the life of a village squire. Unhappily for himself and his family, he carried the business on, though he was wholly unfit for it. Ko^gxxioia t lie., invested, largely in Foriegn Stocks, promising a high rate of interest ; in Land and Credit Companies ; in South American mining speculations. This was gambling ; but he learnt the truth too late. Then, in conducting the legitimate business of a country bank, he behaved in a way exactly opposite to Readymoney Mortiboy's notion of trading. ' And Mortiboy was right, and Melliship wrong. In agricultural districts, bankers makes advances to the farmers. The security is tneir stockjancl their crops. Mr Melliship advanced his customers money at five per cent. Old Mortiboy at six or seven per cent., according to Ms customer. Mr Melliship never pressed a man never turned a deaf ear to a tale of distress. A sorrowful tale told to a banker by his debtor always has for its end time or money. . • Mr Melliship belonged to theoldfasioned school of country bankers : he never threw a man over ; he gave him time, gave Mm more money, bolstered him up. He went on throwing good money after bad, making new advances to keep his debtor afloat, till the man became involved beyond the power, of extraction. Then came the final crash, and the money of the bank was lost. Buried under a mountain of difficulties. After harvest is the time at which the farmer repays the banker in cornproducing counties. Stock sells all the year round ; and so a little dribbles back. In "the Southern counties the lambs pay the rent. In April and May, the bankers gets his money back tlirough BiggerstafTs or Lacy's, who do the banking of the London salesmen. In Holmshii-e there is a little of everything ; the land is described by agriculturalists as " useful." Stock, corn, and lambs are produced, and on these securities the bankers at Market Basing makes advances. Mr Mellship took all the bad business ! old Mortiboy the good — or none. There had been four bad years, and the fanners had for once good reasons to complain of their bad luck. There were bad harvests and bad lambing seasons; and disease broke out .among the cattle, to finish matters. A bad year means this : the bank must go on advancing till the next harvest. This bad been repeated three times, and it ruined the old bank ; for Mr MellisMp had long before dissipated his father's wealth. He had been compelled to borrow money in large sums on his promissory notes. He had had no difficulty in doing this : his connection was large and rich. And very few people knew of Ms embarrassment until four months before his death, when a client of old Mortiboy's died. His son deposited promissory notes of Mr Melliship's to the amount of £1 1,575 in the old gentleman's hands for safe keeping and presentation at maturity. They fell due on Monday, Feburary 10th. Mr MellisMp's difficulties had driven him mad, and Mr Mortiboy was robbed

of the pleasure of seeing his brother-in law at his feet. Young Frank ran off to see Ghrimes. It was a quarter to ten, and there was no time to be lost. He walked quickly into the street, and through the knots of excited talkers, who made way for Mm, with no words of salutataion, for Ms hat Avas drawn over his eyes. Mr Ghrimes lived at the other end of Market Basing. When Frank got there it wanted five minutes to ten, arid he was gone — just gone — to the other bank. Frank followed him. " Good heavens .'Frank — what's this?" cried the manager, when he saw him. " You know it, Mr Ghrirn.es. It is all true. Come round, for God's sake, and help us !" Frank gasped breatMess with excitement and haste. " There is going to be run upon the bank. Hark ! there is ten striking. Come quick, Mr Ghrimes. I must get back-" It was scarcely etiquette, but Mr Mortiboy's manager tlirew formality to the winds, and Avent. Mr Sanderson would not alloAV the bank to be opened till Frank returned. " Open the doors at once," Staid Frank; " Ghrimes Avill be here immediately." As the door opened, a crowd of men surged in. The younger clerks shrank back frightened ; but Mr Sanderson advanced to the counter with bland and reassuring smile. They all opened at once, like so many hounds at scenting a fox. Mr Sanderson held up his hand. They are silent directly. " Hush 1 gentlemen, hush ! Have you not heard the dreadful neAvs 1 Mr Frank is in there. Do not disturb him." " I Avant my money," roared a bluff old publican — Avho had about fifty pounds in the bank —from the neighbourhood of the door. " Pray, gentlemen, let that person come and take his money," said Mr Sanderson. "Oh ! it's you, is it, Mr Stubbs 1 You are to be served before anybody else, because you haven't got the manners to Avait." TMs created a little laugh. The panic was only just beginning. The man received Ms fifty pounds, and Avent off, grumbling. When he got outside, he hesitated. Had he turned back, and given his money again to the bank; — as Avas Ms first impulse, on funding it so promptly paid — all might have been well. For men possess largely themselves the sheep-like propensity of following where one leads. But a moment of indecision was succeeded by the cold breath of doubt ; and Stubbs buttoned up his gold, and walked away. Stubbs was meet outside by his inenas. " Got it— is it arl right ? Can they pay?" " Aye, aye — I'm got mom all square. Mom warn't much. I dra'ad it out, though — all goold." And he tapped his pocket. "Goold, mvn — arl goold? That looks 'nation bad, that do J" "Whoy, Bill?" demanded Stubbs. " They can't payee in nothing better nor goold, can 'em ?" " Looks 'nation bad, though, neighbour — tell'ee whoy. It's arl over Avith 'cm — now, taak moy word furrit. Bank of England Avon't troost 'em wi' no more notes — that's whoy they pays arl in goold, mun." And this version was believed in, and helped to smash Melliship's. Then Mr Saunderson, telling his assistant to- be as slow as possible in paying cheques, but to preserve the appearance of alacrity and readiness, began to converse Avith the crowd — r , every one of whom he knew personally! — who were Avaiting their turn to be paid. To his dismay, it grew thicker; and those who pressed at the door were more impatient than those Avho first entered. But as very feAv of those who got to the front kneAv the amount of their balance, and as this had in every instance to be ascertained, payment took place sloAvly. " What a dreadful thing it is !" said Mr Saunderson, in a stage whisper. " They say he was affected by the success of his own enterprises." People inside heard tMs, and began to wish they had not been so hasty. But the pressure went on increasing from without. " Yes ; and to look at the crowd here, one Avould think there Avas reason to doubt Melliship's bank. Really, gentlemen at the door, you must have patience. Every one in his turn. We shall attend to your business as soon as we possibly can. Jones, here is old Mrs Clarke. Ladies first. Now, do not let Mrs Clarke wait." Mr 3 Clarke was deaf, extremely stupid, and alway disputed the accuracy of every account. She had come to draw out all her money, including the odd halfpence, and Avas likely to keep the clerk, Jones, occupied for a good quarter, of an hour. First, her passbook had to be compared with their ledger. Next, she had to be heard in support of her belief that she had more money than their books showed. Mr Saunderson stepped into the manager's room. Frank was standing before the fire, anxious and dejected. " Mr Frank, we can't go on — we can't I indeed, unless help comes from the other bank. In half an hour Aye shall be at the end of our resources, unless the tide turns. God grant it may!" "Ghrimes promised to be here as soon as he could. We can do nothing but hope. Send round a boy for him. But as they spoke Mr Ghrimes appeared in the bank, having entered from the back. A murmur of relief ran through the expectant crowd as they saw him — for "Mortiboy's Ghrimes" was tmsted implicitly iaMarket Basing, ',

And then people began to look at each other, and to feel as if they were doing a very foolish thing. " What is all this crowd about " asked Ghrimes of one of the clerks, running his fingers through his stubbly, iron gray hair, and looking right through the people, as if he had never seen one of them before in his life. " We want our money, sir," said one of them, less sheepish than the rest. " Oh, do you ?" growled Mr Mortiboy's managei''s. "Then you had better take it ; and don't come to our place with it, if that's the way you intend to inconvenience your bankers at a time of domestic calamity. Jay them all their money as quick as you can, Mr Jones, and let them go." The applicants — who, as yet, were chiefly the tradespeople of the place — were moved by this rebuke, and two or three declared their intention of letting the money " be." But these wei'e few, and the rest only pressed on to the counter. Ghrimes might be right ; but, after all, money was money, and if that wasn't safe, there was no knowing what would happen next. For the popular notion of banking in the Market Basing mind was that the banker kept all the money in gold, in cellars or strong boxes ; that to use it, or to take it out for any purpose save that of retrning it to its rightful owner, would be akin to embezzlement. How bankers lived they never inquired. Mr Ghrimes pushed into the back room. Frank gave a sigh of relief. "It is all right, my dear boy," he said. "Go on paying them, Mr Saun derson. They are putting up the gold at our place for you. As fast as you pay it out, the people bring it over to us ,* so that is all right, and you can meet any number of demands." " But not any number of bills," said Mr Saunderson. "Do not let us meet trouble half way," said Mr Mortiboy's manager. " Our first business is to stop the mouths of those fools outside. Let one of your clerks be ready to receive and weigh when our men come over." Mr Saunderson went back to his counter with a light heart. " I,ve had a terribble time of it with the old man," said Mr Ghrimes. "He seems knocked off his head with this dreadful news. I could not get him to consent to anything. At last his son Dick made him give way. He hardly understood, I think." — " Once a Week."